


Masquerades Are Like Boxes of Chocolates, You Never Know Who You’re Going to Meet

by StarStickerX



Series: Ash/Satoshi X Goh Oneshots [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: AAAA, Costume Parties & Masquerades, F/F, I drew art for this, Im tired, M/M, Masquerade, its 3:06 am
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:00:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27682589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarStickerX/pseuds/StarStickerX
Summary: Goh deals with the fact that Ash can't go to a dance with him, and then gay panics over Ash at said dance,
Relationships: Gou | Goh/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Sana | Shauna/Serena
Series: Ash/Satoshi X Goh Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945054
Comments: 2
Kudos: 82





	Masquerades Are Like Boxes of Chocolates, You Never Know Who You’re Going to Meet

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! Sorry it's been so long, I've been so pressed with creativity lately so I hope you enjoy this little AU I conjured up, you can kinda tell where I started losing inspiration ^^;

Goh laments the loss of his free, off-schedule Saturday as he quietly tucks himself into the left backseat of Professor Cerise’s car. He mulls over the consequences of his actions that lead him here. Drawn under Chloe’s pleading eyes, relenting even though the party Chloe was pleading him to escort her to was too far from his social comforts. Goh was too good of a friend, though he was able to compromise by agreeing that if he went, he could ask Ash to tag along as well. Chloe looked far too satisfied by the outcome, not oblivious to the way Goh acts around Ash. 

Goh decides that he hates Chloe. She’s one of the best friends he could ever ask for, of course; she was kind, loyal, and though she never seemed interested in him, she always lent her support when needed, and in return, he tried his best to be what she was for him. However, he was currently disadvantaged by her cursed puppy dog eyes, her ability to persuade- manipulative, utterly manipulative-, and her undying love for seeing him suffer. One item to add on the “Reasons to Hate Chloe Cerise List, written by Goh.”

He then muses that Chloe has, in her own way, lead him to Ash, the boy that never ceases to amaze. The research fellow has the ability to draw him in with his eyes, which are always clouded with warmth and mirth, his kindness bringing peace and warmth into people and pokemon’s lives, and again and again, Goh finds himself falling in new ways he could never imagine. If he counted how many times Ash has, incidentally or not, swept him off his feet on his fingers, he’d need to borrow both of Chloe’s hands to finish, and that is a reason altogether to both love and hate Chloe Cerise. Goh commits that reason as number two in his head. 

He is overthinking, he knows. The anticipation eats at him like a wildfire. He fidgets in his seat, twiddles his thumbs, runs his fingers through his hair. He’s a mess when he’s alone, let alone when he was with others. He counts Tokio and Ash as good luck when it comes to him socially. He’s sure that any other potential friend he could meet would probably be uncomfortable by how awkward he was. Hell,  _ he _ was uncomfortable by how awkward he was. 

Chloe seems to notice him in his nervous tendencies; his leg is bouncing so fast it must be vibrating, and he’s already ruined part of his freshly brushed hair by twirling it into knots- though that was easy to do without fidgeting- and most annoyingly of all, he’s tapping on the car door in no specific rhythmic pattern. She firmly takes his wrist and pulls his fingers away from his head. Goh is surprised by this action, but he had been so lost in thought that Chloe couldn’t blame him. When his gaze demands an explanation, she chastises “That’s a bad habit.” and gives him a look that promises an explanation later. Goh already knows he’s going to get a lecture about how Chloe can’t even brush her own hair, and that it’s important to maintain it for its health. It’s enough to get a dissatisfied grunt out of him, both because of his promised lecture and because of the annoyance of the action itself. It lands at number three on his list. 

Chloe decides that, yes actually, it has been too quiet in the car, so she will continue the conversation. “I’m sorry Ash couldn’t make it.” Reason four and five, the dark-haired boy decides. Four, Goh longs for the silence, to go back to the default of his mind, no matter how torturous it got, it was familiar. Five, bringing up a painful memory.

“It’s alright, he had something else to do,” Goh says, wounded. Though he hadn’t asked Ash to come along to this stupid masquerade event Chloe was dragging him to, he was able to ask if Ash was doing anything the night of the dance. 

“Yeah,” Ash had replied. “My friend is going on a date and she wants me there as her wingman.” Ash made a tired face. “I don’t even know the first thing about romance!” Goh laughed half-heartedly, but he swallowed any courage he might’ve had left. He’s disappointed, enough that even Ash could see it on his face. 

“Why?” Ash had asked, “Did you need something?”

“No, no, it’s alright, I just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out on that night.” Goh smothers the other half of the truth and desires down his throat. The truth of why he needed Ash there with him, and the desire to sweep Ash off his feet, like Ash had done to him too many times. His cheeks were burning in embarrassment and rejection.

“Well I know how much you wanted him there,” the mellowed boy shot her a doubtful look in Chloe’s direction. Chloe either missed it or didn’t care. The latter was more probable than the former. “, but at least you’ll have me there, though I’ll mostly be with my dad doing… boring business stuff.” Her face scrunches up from underneath her mask, decorated with pink and black to resemble cherry blossoms. “Who discusses boring things at a masquerade party anyway?” She aims the question at her father but ends up missing. Her mother replies, joyful as always.

“They need a fun event to cancel out the boring.” Goh smiles at the similarity, once again reminded of Ash, as if the boy ever left his mind alone. Ash was emotional. Not to say the boy never used his head, Ash was well versed in strategy and battle tactics, and it showed from every Pokemon battle to every chess game shared between the two. Goh was analytical. Not to say the boy didn’t feel, he was more passionate about Mew and catching Pokemon and  _ proving himself  _ than nearly anyone else on the planet. But he and Ash had learned so much from each other in the past few months of knowing each other, so much that they melded together, adopting each other’s habits, building each other up, progressing together, goal by goal. They canceled each other out. 

“Plus,” Chloe’s father adds, snapping Goh out of his reverie. He was somewhat still in a daze, trying to figure out what he missed out on the conversation. “, there’s going to be plenty of people there for this event, not just me and some work companions. There’s going to be multiple pokemon trainers, performers, racers, engineers, gym leaders, every one of the sorts there, I’d say it’ll be a good learning opportunity.” Goh feels in awe and excited at that, yet mellowed out still. He got to meet all these incredible people, yet he wouldn’t get to meet them with Ash, who would love more than anything to meet some of these people. Goh muses that Ash would challenge someone to a battle in less than five minutes. He laughs at himself, cheered up a little by the thought. 

“How will we even know who they are? It’s a masquerade!” Chloe whines, which she doesn’t do very often. Goh still hates it, he counts it as number six. If it bothers the professor, he doesn’t show it. He laughs merrily and takes his wife’s outstretched hand. He keeps a steady hand on the steering wheel, not pausing to look back at them.

“That’s the funny thing about this whole thing. Masquerades are like boxes of chocolates, you never know who you’re going to meet.”

_______________________________________________________

Goh’s mask doesn’t cover much of his face, he thinks. If he could choose his mask, he’d love to pick something cool, something out of a play or a movie, something like  _ Phantom of the Opera.  _ Chloe reminds him that even then his mask wouldn’t cover his whole face, defeating the purpose of the whole event. She ends up gifting him a mask a few days before the dance, one which makes his eyes light up in a merry little way that takes Ash’s rejection out of them. Chloe is proud of herself for that, laughing as Goh hugs her by the waist, despite herself. Normally she’d push away, but Goh had been miserable the days following Ash’s not-so-much-of-a-rejection. She could stand to hug him once.

Goh takes out his phone and looks at himself in the camera, happy to see his final look before entering the ginormous building. His mask is light pink and is decorated in silver and blue, two triangles at the top of the mask mimicking Mew’s ears. He’s proud of how he looks, if only for a second.

“I told you that you look good.” Chloe huffs, waiting for him to hurry up. She paces on the sidewalk in front of the building, which could be described more as a courtyard more than an enterance. Goh’s anxiety is eating at his stomach, thoroughly stalling him. He laughs, bubbly, nerves slowly dissipating. This is what he needed, a constant, Chloe. Ash would’ve made a better constant, though Chloe wasn’t being a bad one yet. 

“You better not have a crush on me.” He jokes, taking shaky steps forward. Chloe blows off the statement, almost offended. 

“As if I’d get in the way of your mega-gay crush on Mr. Sunshine.” Chloe states, walking beside him. They reach the door, and Goh is thankful that the mask covers his cheeks and nose; they are most certainly flushed by now. They enter the foyer, and though Goh is preoccupied, he does take notice of how fancy and regal the place looks, it’s almost like a palace, a castle, a dream. 

“I do not-” Goh sees Chloe’s eyebrows raise over her narrow mask. He pauses, “- have a crush on Ash.” Chloe snorts, amused.

“What else you not have? An obsession over Mew?” She teases. Goh does not like the look Chloe is giving him.

“Okay! I get it! I have a small-”

“Huge.”

“-crush on Ash.” Chloe rolls her eyes fondly, if not exasperated.

“Whatever you say.”

_________________________________________________________________________

Chloe leaves him behind soon after, following her father around to meet people for the first few hours of the event. Goh writes it down as reason number seven of “Reasons to Hate Chloe Cerise List, written by Goh” and he realizes that this list is much longer than he anticipated. Granted, the pros outweighed the cons and most of this stuff is things he enjoys about Chloe, but tonight is different. 

Goh finds himself lost after a grand total of fifteen minutes. He has a vague map on his head of where he is, crushed by the consequences of avoiding the ballroom like the plague. He finds himself there after wandering for a while anyway. The ballroom is big and full of people. Most of them are adults, and that mixed with the incredible three-story-tall ballroom makes him feel smaller than he would like. He enters the room, meek and frightened, nearly overwhelmed by all the people and the noise. More prominent against the talking, he can hear the strings of a violin and a cello playing generic waltz music, accompanied by a few drums -maybe a timpani- and some flutes.

He sees snack tables, benches outlining the dance floor, even fountains. What was the need for an event this extravagant?

Goh finds himself biding his time on the benches, people watching. He doesn’t recognize anybody- though he supposes that’s the point- he does end up waving at a few people who catch him starting, amused by the embarrassment the boy shows when he’s caught.

Eventually, the lights dim and a spotlight appears, raining its light on a young woman. She’s dressed extravagantly, and it’s easy to see how she owns such a place. 

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Masquerade event of the century!” She bellows into the mic. She must not realize how loud her voice is, because everyone clasps their hands over their ears at first before the woman realizes her mistake. “I deeply apologize! Let us start over… welcome ladies and gentlemen, to the masquerade event of the century! I’m the co-host of this wonderful little event, and I hope you all enjoy the festivities! Please, join everyone on the dance floor! The dancing festivities will be lasting all night!” Goh muses the possibility of someone wanting to dance with him. He finds it very unlikely, the thought making him a little sad. 

Everyone floods the dance floor, a spotlight illuminating random people in the crown every now and then. Goh sits and pays attention.

Though he finds himself pretty good at the waltz, he doesn’t find himself to be a good dancer, even then, he imagines what it would be like to be here with Ash, the possibility of him being able to ask him to dance. He longs to hold him, to dance with him, to show him his trust, his admiration. Goh’s face is burning as he snaps himself out of his own fantasy. He knows it is something he cannot have, and he feels horrible for imagining those things, especially when Ash wasn’t there.

Goh returns his attention to the crowd as a spotlight moves, capturing someone in the middle of the crowd. The spot-lit person is the focus of Goh’s attention now, the blinding light demanding every pair of eyes it can get. Goh’s heart nearly stops when he sees him, face flushing. The boy in the spotlight is stunning, a smile adorning his face, illuminated by light, black hair tied back into a small ponytail. His mask is yellow and long so that it nearly covers his nose and cheeks, and so that it frames his hair perfectly at the top.

Goh immediately looks away, too flustered. He’s only ever felt like this about one other person before, and with him, it was never immediately and suddenly like this. Goh fell in love with Ash over time, falling for his heart and his spirit first before he even realized how pretty Ash was. Still, this boy was gorgeous, demanding Goh’s heart immediately, and Goh only managed a glimpse!

His heart pounds in his ears, the waltz music seemingly following his own tempo. He manages to look back at the boy now, though he’s closer than he was before. Goh then realizes he’s walking over to him, eyes now fixed on him in a worried fashion. 

Goh panics. He’s frozen to his seat no matter how much he wants to run, or act natural, or actually talk to him. 

“You alright? You’re over here by yourself.” The voice is nearly drowned out by the intensity of the waltz as it grows more lively.

Goh remains silent, frozen. The boy is framed in the candlelight that the ballroom is now lit in. He wears it well, warm, and friendly-looking. Goh is sure that warm isn’t the only word he’d use. He curses himself for thinking it immediately.

It’s a couple of seconds before Goh can respond, and when he does, his brain is still rebooting. “...Oh! Y-yeah I’m fine! My friend is uh…” Why was speaking so hard? Goh curses himself, he’s talking way too loud, and way too slow. Despite this, the boy is still there, patiently waiting. He’s still outlined with worry, and Goh wishes for his smile back, beautiful and bright. “...she’s out meeting p-people...which isn’t really my t-thing.” Goh curses everything from his nervousness to his stupid stuttering. 

“Oh no! That’s awful! Though I feel the same way almost, my friend went off to go dance with her new girlfriend! I guess I’m a loner too!” He smiles, and Goh’s heart is in his throat. He’s too kind, too understanding, too gentle. 

“T-that’s too bad, you seem like a blast to hang out with…” Goh trails off, though now that he thinks about it it makes him sound like he’s been watching him. Nice going, Goh.

The boy doesn’t seem to notice Goh’s stumble. “You think so?” A curious look is on his face, and though Goh loves his smile, Goh seems to love falling into the casual conversation more. He counts this win with the lucky social interactions like Tokio and Ash…

Goh’s guilt drills a hole in a stomach. Is this what Ash deserves? How could he be so enamored with someone he just met?

He’s caught out of his worried thoughts with a hand on his shoulder; the boy is holding him by his arm softly, urging him to stand. “C’mon, let’s dance! I found a really cool place to as well, I think you’ll enjoy it!” Goh stops breathing. His chest is warm, filled to the brim with little fuzzies. Goh feels doomed but happy at the same time.

“Are you sure? With me?” Goh asks, breathless. The boy notices this time around, and laughs, bubbly and deep. 

“Yes, I’m sure. If it’s to help you and make you feel more comfortable, I’d do it all night long.”

__________________________________________________________________

Goh isn’t sure why the gorgeous stranger cares for him so much, or why he picks the most breathtaking and romantic spot to dance. He’s pulled gently to a balcony, lit by nothing but a few candles and the starlight, and Goh can’t help the involuntary gasp that leaves his lungs. The stranger laughs, and Goh could swear he could see a little bit of red on the boy’s face. He supposes it is a bit chilly outside, he should have worn a jacket. His vest will have to do.

He has no time to dwell on this as he is pulled close in a dancing stance. The boy seems to question him, checking to see if he had any personal boundaries. Goh is enamored, feeling lightning in his fingertips, forgetting to respond quickly. Then he nods, pulling closer by the tiniest bit. If the boy notices, he seems to not mind. 

They fall into a slow step immediately, and Goh immediately laughs at how bad the stranger is at the traditional waltz.

“I’m so sorry,” he says, stepping on Goh’s toes. “, I am so… so bad at dancing.” He looks embarrassed, but Goh laughs kindly, telling him that its uniqueness that makes dancing fun. The stranger responds with eyefuls of pure mirth, and a few fast spins that nearly sweep Goh off his feet for real. It’s met with smiles and laughter, funny little dancing tricks, playful dips and spins, and when they finally stop, they lean against the railing of the balcony and talk, gazing at stars.

“You know what we should do?” the stranger asks. Goh makes a questioning noise. “We should reveal who we are in three minutes when it’s midnight!” Goh laughs.

“That’s so cliche,” he says, looking over and meeting the boy’s eyes. 

“I suppose…” the boy trails off, sounding mildly disappointed. Goh immediately backtracks.

“But it would be fun, I’ve been dying to see who you are,” Goh says. “I think you’re a pretty good friend.”

The stranger is taken aback for a second, then beams, smile blinding. 

“I suppose we count down the time then.” Goh laughs at his reaction, his heart still untamed against his ribcage. He’s learning to hide it well, but his voice does come out wobbly and weird, and he has to cover it up by pretending he had something in his throat.

They count down together, getting more excited at two minutes, one minute, thirty seconds, ten seconds.

At zero, they take their masks off and look at each other. Goh is dumbfounded.

“Ash?” Ash looks equally as confused, even tilting his head to make sense of the situation. Suddenly his eyes brighten, and he’s having trouble containing his joy.

“You’re the really pretty boy who was all alone! Hi Goh!” Ash probably doesn’t realize what he said, but Goh flushes bright red. 

Goh is unable to say anything. He danced with him, lightly flirted with him, complimented him without even knowing who he was, yet Goh’s heart still beat for him, Ash was still as gorgeous, and Goh was still as dumb as he was when he shoved the truth to the back of his head when he asked Ash if he was free.

“I thought you said you didn’t know anything about romance,” Goh says plainly before he can gain control of his mouth. He squeaks at himself, especially when he sees Ash’s surprised face.

“Well I guess my gut was telling me something right then, I picked the right boy to romance.” Ash has no right to tease him like that, especially with that look on his face. Still, Goh smiles and laughs, shoving Ash playfully. 

“You’re an idiot! You couldn’t have known it was me!” 

“It’s plainly obvious, you’re wearing a Mew mask of all things.” Goh looks down at the mask in his hands, now adding bullet points to the “Reasons to Love Chloe Cerise List, written by Goh.” Goh narrows his eyes.

“There were others with this mask on…” 

“I guess I just got very lucky then,” Ash concludes, closing his eyes and pointing a finger to the sky. Goh rolls his eyes.

“Chloe is gonna make fun of us,” Goh states, crossing his arms. Ash looks past him, face full of dread.

“Serena is gonna make fun of me, along with her new girlfriend Shauna.” He pouts, and Goh finds it illegal for a pout to be that cute. An idea swirls in his head, and he’s not sure who or what has given him the confidence to try it, but he does.

He reaches up to hold Ash’s face, and Ash snaps to attention focusing on what Goh is doing. He gives a questioning look but nods when he knows what Goh wants. Goh smiles and shakily kisses Ash’s cheek, before holding onto his hand and starting to run off.

“Better get the teasing over with then, huh?” Goh smiles and he looks back, Ash smiles and laughs, nodding.

“I suppose so, pretty masked boy.” Goh flushes immediately, while Ash only laughs at him.

Goh adds Ash’s flirting to “Reasons to Hate Ash Ketchum List, written by Goh.”

**Author's Note:**

> Have any requests? COmment them down below, maybe I'll be able to get to one!


End file.
